The two have been friends for decades and used to write sketches together.

Judd Apatow and Jim Carrey are two funny people you might not have known were such big fans of one another.

The two (apparently longtime friends) spoke fondly of their early days in the Hollywood club scene together during an appearance at Montreal’s Just for Laughs festival, with Apatow calling Carrey’s stand-up sets at the Improv “the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“”He would go on stage every night and improvise his entire set,” explained the “Knocked Up” and “This Is 40” director. “His goal was not to repeat one line from any other night.” Apatow was even present when Carrey came up with Fire Marshall Bill, a character he went on to portray many times on “In Living Color.” The two eventually started co-writing sketches together, and the $5,000 Carrey paid Apatow for his services “paid [his] rent for about a year.”

Zhao said with her Bass Reeves biopic, she’ll direct a more traditional cast like she did with her first-timers: “You can work with an actor in a certain way, you can create an environment like Terrence Malick has always done.”